Youth Soaring Development Camp 2016

BY KIM AND ROGER READ

2016 finished on a real high with another very successful YSDC at Omarama. Despite some challenging weather conditions, similar to those which had wiped out a number of competition days at the South Island Regionals, we managed some great soaring along with the usual basic training.

We had thirty ‘students’ attend; more than ever. This stretched our resources, so a huge WELL DONE and thank you to all who contributed so generously to making it the fun-filled success it will be remembered for. There was an increased international component with a young Canadian, a German and two young French pilots flying alongside the YGNZ members; their presence added to the development of the camaraderie amongst all involved and we look forward to having these guests return for more flying here. 341 flights were flown during the nine flyable days of the camp. We did 285 hours gliding of which 84 hours were flown solo.

Congratulations go to the five who made their First Solos and to those who re-soloed and consolidated and extended their skills. Six A Certificates were completed; two achieved their FAI Silver Duration 5 hour, bladder endurance challenge... and a few others got very close but discovered you can’t fly co-ordinated turns with your legs crossed! One FAI Silver Height Gain and one FAI Gold Height Gain were made and others were to be denied similar awards when they discovered their loggers had failed. The elation of doing the flights still kept them smiling and strengthened their resolve to try again at the earliest opportunity. Congratulations to Fraser McDougall and Tim Austen who successfully completed their C Cat Instructor Rating checks and were immediately pressed into back seat service. They join a growing number of young instructors who will help ensure the long-term future of our sport.

They say an Army marches on its stomach...well, Kim

and her small team of helpers will attest to this. On top of the catering required to keep the students, instructors and helpers well fed, they raised $2000 by providing extra catering with two fund raising dining events held in the Terminal Building. We are also indebted to all our many sponsors who provided a range of food supplies and to organisations and businesses like Z Energy, CAA, Air NZ and GNZ Umbrella Trust who donated over $8000 towards the camp flying costs. Many clubs along with Glide Omarama and some private owners provide their aircraft and equipment at heavily discounted rates, all of which make these camps affordable for all involved. An interesting ‘addition’ to this year’s camp was the availability of dual instruction in South Canterbury’s Cub tow plane for a couple of aspiring tow pilots. We hope to continue to offer this flying as we see tow pilots as an important part of our operations. More qualified tow pilots will help ensure our ability to re-generate the sport.

An interesting ‘addition’ to this year’s camp was the availability of dual instruction in South Canterbury’s Cub tow plane for a couple of aspiring tow pilots. We hope to continue to offer this flying as we see tow pilots as an important part of our operations.

YSDC 2016 AWARDS / PRIZES Glide Omarama. Weekend Mountain Soaring Course

Jake Bevan Canterbury GNZ Umbrella Trust (Dick Georgeson) $500 each

S am Tullet T aranaki Jarrod Barton Nelson Lakes Josh Fergusson Nelson Lakes

T im Tarbotton W ellington NZAWA Top Female Student (Membership, $250 and Silver Wings Book)

A lexandra Thompson H awkes Bay NZAWA Runners Up

L aura Wagstaff T auranga

T erina Wardley H awkes Bay Air New Zealand Work Experience Day on Domestic Airbus Operations

Alexandra Thompson Hawkes Bay

Rakesh Allen Piako Air Safaris Work Experience Day

N ick Moore Y outh Glide Omarama Helicopter Line Work Experience Day

Laura Wagstaff Tauranga Milford Scenic Flights Work Experience Day

Terina Wardley Hawkes Bay Glide Omarama Day Mountain Soaring with Gavin Wills

S am Patterson Y outh Glide Omarama Glide Omarama Day Mountain Soaring with Justin Wills

Daniel Town Canterbury Novus Glass NZ $250 each for club flying account

Uma Tuffnell Auckland Laetitia Telford Youth Glide Omarama Rakesh Allen Piako

Connor James Canterbury Ballooning Canterbury Flight Experience

C onnor James C anterbury G Dale Book Award A lexandra Thompson H awkes Bay Nolan Cockburn Tauranga N ick Kelly H awkes Bay Ross Brodie Youth Glide Omarama

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

Gliding New Zealand Umbrella Trust: $2000 for four awards prizes of $500 Air New Zealand: $2000 towards flying costs NZ Civil Aviation Authority: $2000 towards flying costs Z Energy: 1000 litres Avgas for towing Novus Glass: $1000 for four prizes of $250 Foodstuffs SI Pak’nsave Hornby: $500 for food shopping Meadow Mushrooms: 8 boxes of mushrooms Oakleys Fresh Vegetables: A huge amount of vegetables Tip Top Ice Cream Watties Tinned fruit and vegetables Health Discovery: Nutritious inflight snack bars Omarama Airfield: Limited Discounts on Landing Fees Omarama Soaring Centre: Grants for cleaning facilities Canterbury Gliding Club: Gliders, tow planes, equipment, all at favourably reduced rates Glide Omarama Hawkes Bay Gliding Club Nelson Lakes Gliding Club Omarama Gliding Club South Canterbury Gliding Club Youth Glide Canterbury Youth Glide Omarama TF ASH-25 Syndicate MT LS4 Syndicate Avon Technical Solutions: Battery Chargers

7th Annual Youth Soaring Development Camp

BY UMA TUFFNELL

I cannot quite express how awesome these camps really are!

As this was my second camp, I felt I was fairly prepared for what lay in store and packed a suitable supply of jumpers, shoes, socks and biscuits, just in case.

Ifind the beauty of gliding to be in it’s variability, and consequently the continuous need to meet every day and flight as unique and different- responding to the conditions, the clouds, the ridge, other gliders and the environment you find around yourself.

No two camps are the same either and it was exciting to see a new group of younger glider pilots learning the ropes and progressing through to solo, filling the gaps created by some of the veterans who weren’t able to attend this year and also expanding the size of the group to thirty. We also had a number of international gliding youth attending from France, Canada and Germany which was exciting and interesting. Many of us had good conversations about gliding overseas and it was easy to bond over Kim’s cooking and our shared love of gliding. I spent a good deal of time learning the German equivalent of common gliding terms, such as windenschlepp (winch launch), which will no doubt prove most useful!

As far as the gliding was concerned, conditions were variable. We had a few very windy days (which required the alternative activities, ice cream consumption and trips to Lake Benmore, Lake Ohau and the Wrinkley Ram cafe).

We also had some epic wave days (even if a little patchy here and there), and I was lucky enough to fly to Mt Cook four times in Oscar Romeo with Graham Erikson who is an absolutely superb

instructor. It was great to be able to go up for more substantial flights, settle into the glider and become more proficient in reading the sky, the nature of wave formation and soaring as well as planning ahead for possible land out options should we need them. Cross-country soaring has re-inspired my drive to get my licence and do more solo flying as well as turning me into something of a cloud geek (we really ought to start a cloud appreciation club!).

I cannot quite express how awesome these camps really are! We are so lucky that this opportunity is available for youth because it provides great conditions for consolidation and consistency of learning as well as progression which is encouraging and motivates us to continue flying when we return home.

YSDC as an Instructor

BY CAMPBELL MCIVER

Laura Wagstaff

Having participated in the 2012 and 2013 Youth Soaring Development Camps, Omarama, I spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons focusing on competition flying. So, I figured it was time to head back and give back to these camps by attending as an instructor. I flew at the South Island Regionals where, despite the poor weather, I had an opportunity to get comfortable in the mountains again and head into the Youth Glide camp confident I could keep myself and others around me safe.

Once again, I am pleased to report that we enjoyed a safe and extraordinarily well planned camp, thanks to the intense efforts of Kim and Roger Read and the Youth Glide New Zealand committee. I was pleased to meet the newer pilots coming through and can report they are a great, enthusiastic bunch who have all been bitten by the soaring bug. Over the course of the camp we had numerous achievements, including several first solos, height gains and silver duration flights and many type conversions.

We had a mixture of weather conditions including wave, thermal, convergence and ridge which offered our pilots not only strong, but often challenging conditions. I found the range of conditions fantastic to instruct in and it was very rewarding to see all my students progress to either their first solo or re-solo.

So, what can I say was a new experience for me? Certainly, getting used to teaching in more extreme weather conditions from that of Drury, with stronger winds, wind gradients and wave would have been my biggest hurdle. Initially, I had my concerns but simply talking to more experienced instructors and getting advice soon settled those nerves. I was lucky enough to be given a day off to fly in the back of an ASH-25 with Chris Garton, on a thermal and convergence day which was a huge eye opening experience and an opportunity to see how the south easterly air mass affected the Mackenzie basin and the Southern Alps towards the north.

Without the help of Roger and Kim, our sponsors, supporters, associate members and many more, we couldn’t have enjoyed another successful and memorable camp. It is our aim that our members continue to progress their training and get involved with their clubs before heading to the next camp. So please support and encourage them to do so when they are out at your local club next!

Overall, instructing at the Youth Glide camp was a hugely rewarding experience. We had a great bunch of students, instructors and ground crew who all deserve credit for their enthusiasm throughout the camp.